NBA 2K

• Release Date: November 12, 1999
• Genre: Sports
• Style: Basketball
• Similar Games: NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC (Dreamcast), NBA Courtside 2 Featuring Kobe Bryant (Nintendo 64), NBA Live 2000 (PlayStation), ESPN NBA 2Night (Dreamcast)

Game Description

Developer Visual Concepts follows up the critically acclaimed NFL 2K with their second sports title for the Dreamcast, one that has the distinction of being the first basketball game released on the 128-bit system.

Endorsed by 1998-99 NBA scoring leader Allen Iverson, NBA 2K features high-resolution 3D polygonal graphics, over 1,300 motion-captured moves, and authentic teams and players from the NBA. Not only are players rendered down to the length of their shorts and style of goggles they wear, but you'll also see the actual coaches on the sidelines!

Besides offering rendered players scaled to height and weight, NBA 2K includes what is referred to as facial morphing. What this means is that players will noticeably react to the action on the court by smiling, shaking their heads in disgust, or opening their mouths in triumph as they dunk on the opposition. All 29 NBA teams from the 1998-99 season are included along with 28 modeled stadiums complete with moving crowds.

Players are also individually related in such categories as stealing, blocking, strength, and quickness. These ratings will help influence the degree of success you'll have in making a three-point shot, free throw attempt, or rebound. It also influences the type of action performed in the paint -- certain players can dunk from farther out than others, while some can only perform layups near the basket.

NBA 2K features a total of five modes of play: Exhibition, Quick Start, Season, Playoffs, and Practice. Exhibition involves selecting two teams of your choice and playing one regulation game, while Quick Start randomly selects the two teams and home court. Season mode involves choosing one team and playing 82 games (which can be reduced to 56, 28 or 14) following the schedule of the 1999-2000 season. Statistics will also be tracked during this mode for your team, players, and around the league.

Playoffs let players go right to the final games leading up to the championship, whether it is a series of seven, five, or three games, or simply a one-game contest. Wrapping up the modes is Practice, where you can work on landing your shots with the help of a Shot Rater and play with any one of the five starting members on your team. You can also grab a friend and work on your alley-oops!

Once you're ready to begin the game, you'll be able to play from one of eight different camera angles. Passing involves using the analog stick or the more refined icon passing, which will place letters above each player's position. This way you can pass to one specific player instead of motioning toward his general direction with the stick. Users can also perform crossover dribbles to fake out defenders, post up while backing down, spin or pivot to protect the ball, pump fake, call for picks, clear out defenders after grabbing a rebound, and even pass out of their shot!

Aspiring coaches will also be able to select from four offensive plays (each team has a playbook of 16) within the game or decide on one of four defensive sets: Full Court Press, Half Court Press, Half Court Trap, and Half Court Set. Defensive moves include calling for a double team, executing an intentional foul, and facing up to prevent an opponent from driving past you.

NBA 2K features a different system for free throws than in previous basketball games: successful attempts are manipulated by using both trigger buttons on the edges of the controller. The perspective is from behind your player as he looks toward the basket. On either side of the net is an arrow that points away from the hoop, and shots are made by pressing both triggers at precisely the same time (which will merge both arrows into one directly above the net).

The game also supports trades (up to three players from each team can be involved per deal), allows players to create up to eight custom lineups for their team, and lets them substitute tired players with fresh blood from the bench. In addition, users can set the level of fouls called in the game or individually adjust each rule, enter a fantasy draft, choose between two styles of play (Arcade or Simulation), and create a player with custom abilities to use on their favorite team. A VMU with 185 blocks of space is needed in order to save game data.

Roots & Influences

NBA 2K follows the groundwork established by EA SPORTS' NBA Live franchise (which began in 1994) and the more recent (as of 1999) Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside on the Nintendo 64 platform. The 128-bit system's first basketball game adopts many of the same features as found in the aforementioned games, including polygonal athletes, in-game statistical tracking, play-by-play commentary, and the ability to create your own star athletes. The game was developed by Visual Concepts, the company responsible for Sega Sports' first NFL game on the Dreamcast: NFL 2K.

Review: Overall

What developer Visual Concepts did for the gridiron has now been done for the hardwood: a sports title that offers the graphics, playability, and artificial intelligence (AI) to convert nearly anyone who remotely enjoys the game of basketball into a hardcore fanatic. With NBA 2K, Visual Concepts avoids the sophomore slump so many rookies suffer after setting the world on fire during their first season, so don't expect anything less than a first-rate experience from the tip-off to the final buzzer. Perhaps the scariest thing is that the graphics have actually improved since NFL 2K!

Despite the game appearing only two months after NFL 2K, the graphics are noticeably better in almost every area, especially the player models. NFL 2K had players covered in padding and helmets, so the individual faces and appearances weren't as important as they are in NBA 2K. The reduction in the number of on-screen athletes must have definitely helped, because there are times when you'll swear you are playing with the actual stars of the NBA.

Each athlete's individual hairstyle, equipment such as goggles and armbands, and build (some stars are noticeably more muscular than others) have been recreated almost flawlessly. This is on top of the smooth-as-butter motion-captured moves and facial expressions that are, well, rather eerie. Players will have their eyes move back and forth looking for an open man, eyebrows will furrow in anger, and mouths will open in elation as they dunk or make that game-winning shot. Talk about realism!



Also available are rousing pre-game introductions with special emphasis placed on the home team: the lights go black, the music starts thumping, and spotlights swirl around the floor highlighting the team's logo as you would see at an actual game. The coaches and bench players are also polygonal, so you don't have to worry about the unsightly "wallpaper" that plagued NFL 2K's sidelines. The best part is that they aren't static -- expect Pat Riley to pace the floor at certain times or bench players to rise up out of their seats.

Otherwise, you can tell both games were done by the same developer. The same football-shaped interface is used to select the game modes and options before lacing up the high-tops, so you just have to point the analog stick and then press a button to start playing. The in-game action is also a bit slower than normal console basketball games, so if you didn't like the slightly relaxed pace of NFL 2K, you might find it somewhat sluggish.

The gameplay is just as solid as the graphics. Those who have played earlier console basketball titles will know right where to put this game to the test. Does the computer foul your players? Yes, it does! Does the ball realistically bounce off the rim so you can grab rebounds, or does it fall to the floor like a rock and roll along the court? It bounces! It is also very easy to switch to the open man and swat a ball away on defense, which is something that cannot be easily said of other basketball games. The overall control is very tight, so you don't have to worry about small delays after pressing the button to jump or shoot.

There is one questionable feature, however, that is supposed to be innovative: the free throw system. The trick in designing such a system is to make the process harder for players who struggled in real life while making it easier for players who succeeded. Shaquille O'Neal should be laying bricks, for example, while Reggie Miller hits nothing but net. EA SPORTS was the first to create a realistic system for free throws, the T-Meter, which involved pressing the button as a circle moved back and forth along horizontal and vertical meters in the shape of a T.

By pressing the button as the circle lined up in the center, the shot would find its mark. So poor shooters would have a rough go at it because the circle moved at high speeds, making it harder to pinpoint the shot. Visual Concepts' system uses both triggers on the back of the controller to guide the ball in the basket, and the process will drive anyone bonkers after a few attempts.

The idea is to squeeze both triggers at precisely the same time so that both arrows on either side of the net merge together as one over the basket. If your left finger jumps the gun and starts a split second before the right one, you're toast. You'll realize how Shaq must feel after routinely clanging balls off the rim. I don't see how this system is particularly innovative, but it is different. If the developers were trying to make the free throws a nerve-wracking experience, they have done so with flying colors. But they've done it at the expense of fun and realism, which is a problem.

Other than the quirky free throws, the game is a winner. Computer opponents will make you work for each basket instead of letting you run up and down the court yelling "boom-shaka-laka" as you dunk with reckless abandon. Dunking is possible of course, but you'll have to earn each one by faking out defenders and driving past them as they jump in the air.

Fouls are also called consistently and there never seemed to be instances of cheating when you have the lead (some games start changing the frequency of fouls called against you to help even things up). The passing game is alive and well with the now standard icons above each player and adjustable offensive plays (four from a list of 16), but calling these plays is not always easy since you have to quickly switch to the directional pad. This is a minor gripe, however.

In the end, I haven't had this much fun in a console basketball game since NBA Live 95 on the Super NES. The presentation is obviously a big part of the draw factor, as NBA 2K ushers in an era when sports games will become even closer to the sports they attempt to recreate in terms of visuals, audio, and realism. Even though EA SPORTS has yet to commit to the Dreamcast at the time of this writing, NBA 2K is much more than the only sim-style basketball game on the system. It's one of the best console games of the sport available!

Review: Enjoyment

The quality of the graphics, sound, and competition makes this game a blast to play. Invite three friends over and you won't want to stop playing!

Review: Graphics

This has to be the best looking basketball game released on any system, bar none. The fluidity of animation, details in the courts, and visible emotions make this game the one to beat (at least from a visual standpoint). The crowds will even vary in size depending on how well your team performs!

Review: Sound

The announcers are not actual commentators (they are actors reading from a script), but they do a good job in delivering that broadcast feeling. Players will be announced by their nicknames and comments will be made on how well you're performing. There is also organ music playing at different intervals, and the crowd will get noticeably louder during the big plays. I wish someone like Marv Albert could be brought on to offer a bit more personality, however. I miss the "YES!" after each basket.

Review: Replay Value

The game lets you create your own players, embark on a full season, and participate in a fantasy draft. VMU support is also well done, as players can look at shooting percentages and see other things to enhance gameplay, but the game is a hog when it comes to utilizing space. Players will need to invest in more VMUs if they want to play other games!

Review: Documentation

The documentation lacks color and could be a little deeper in explaining the strategy involved for beginners. All of the controls are detailed, however, and the modes are clearly defined.

Production Credits